Stellar start

On the opening night of the year in Section VI athletics, Fredonia recorded a clean sweep of the visiting Westfield Wolverines in a non-league contest at Fredonia High School on Tuesday night. Fredonia’s three sets were claimed by scores of 25-15, 25-9 and 25-13.

“It definitely sets the tone for the season and gives the girls some goals to achieve. It gives them the confidence to go forward,” said Fredonia head coach Amanda Krakowiak.

Fredonia (1-0) held a slim advantage through the first 15 points of the opening set, 8-7. That changed in a hurry, as the next 15 points were split 10-5 in Fredonia’s favor, which prompted a timeout by Westfield (0-1) with the score 18-12 Fredonia.

Coming out of the timeout, as Westfield hoped to turn the momentum in its favor, the ball bounced right to Fredonia in a way that seemed to signal the result on the evening was destined to end in the host’s favor. As a Fredonia return shot high up into the rafters, it pinballed around before falling into the waiting arms of Elizabeth Morris. The Fredonia senior stuck with the odd bounce and sent the ball forward for her teammates to clear the net. Westfield eventually failed to keep the rally going and the ‘Billies took the point to a bellowing cheer.

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown
Westfield’s Alina Franklin delivers a serve during Tuesday’s nonleague volleyball match at Fredonia High School.

“Our girls have a lot of hustle. They don’t give up on those plays,” Krakowiak said. “Those are things that we’ve been working on over the years, and it’s really nice to see those click and come together.”

From that point on, Fredonia coasted to a double-digit victory in the opening set, which ended as the closest of all three sets in the match.

Fredonia built a double-digit lead in the second set, 15-5. Then after the next six points were split evenly, the ‘Billies finished the set with seven of the final eight points for a 25-9 victory.

“We played really well together. That teamwork really showed through. That’s what’s going to help us as we go through our hard schedule this season,” Krakowiak said.

In the third set, Westfield evened the score at 7-all, but the ‘Billies responded with six straight points to pull away and never look back. Fredonia extended the lead in the final set to 21-9, which capped a 14-2 scoring run. The ‘Billies and Wolverines split the final eight points of the set evenly as Fredonia finished off the victory.

“The score I’m not too sure reflects some of the great play that was in there. We’ve just got to find that great play on a more consistent level,” Westfield head coach Greg Birner said. “Find that offense and we’ll be fine. Defense, I loved the digs we made. We’ve just got to turn that defense into offense now.”

Fredonia was paced by Maddie Saunders with 28 assists, along with four kills. Londyn Wilmot had 12 kills and added five digs; Elizabeth Morris had 11 kills and six digs; and Lydia LaBarr had eight kills, eight digs, and four aces. Saunders, Morris, and LaBarr are three of Fredonia’s four seniors this season.

“That first good pass, that we’ve really been harping on over the years, really has led to successful offense after that,” Krakowiak said. “… It was also great to see that the kills came from across the board. Everyone contributed greatly to this game. It was a complete team effort.”

“Let’s give some props to Fredonia. They are hitting their apex right now. This is the program they have been building for a little bit. Now they’ve got some key pieces,” Birner said.

Birner highlighted Morris among Fredonia’s standouts. “That lefty, No. 6, she was bringing it,” Birner said.

Westfield was led statistically by Charly Mathews and Sydney Hotchkiss, each with six digs. While Westfield’s defense was strong, the offense struggled to find any momentum against an experienced Fredonia team.

The two teams also began the regular season against each other a year ago, with Westfield winning three sets to one. Tanleigh Bestine and Keara Kincaid led the way for the Wolverines in last year’s victory, but they have both graduated since. Their absence was clearly felt on Tuesday, even with the bright spots on defense that Birner took from the defeat.

“I’m excited about what’s coming up in Westfield volleyball. I feel like as the season progresses, this team is going to change. A lot of it has to do with chemistry,” Birner said. “Big pieces left, but big pieces are coming in. It’s going to be different, but we’re going to keep working at it. … I think there’s a lot to feed off of and to grow from what we did here.”

The new look Wolverines will try to regroup after the loss, which came just eight days after their first practice. Teams that face a large turnover from a year ago — as Westfield does — are in a tough position this season with a short preseason before contests begin.

Fredonia, however, relied on continuity from a year ago. A good portion of the ‘Billies this season have spent many years playing together, including at the varsity level several years ago as underclassmen. Krakowiak hopes that the growing pains are behind the ‘Billies, and that last night’s showing is evidence that Fredonia could be in for a much more successful season this year than in recent history.

“They have really worked hard together over the past years. They have developed that team chemistry and they’ve gone above and beyond in the offseason,” Krakowiak said of her team’s veteran leaders. Seeing it all result in a victory to kick off the 2024 season, Krakowiak said, “It warms my heart greatly. It’s every coach’s dream to see that.”

Up next, Fredonia travels to Portville on Thursday, while Westfield travels to Clymer on Monday. The two teams will meet again in Westfield on Oct. 18.

“I’m looking forward to playing them again,” Birner said. “Hopefully we make the progress I’m talking about so the rematch is not so far apart.”